One Year Ago

Omari's eyelids fluttered. He was confused as to how he could feel his body moving when he was supposed to be dead. His eyelids fluttered again, and parted slightly, then opened fully.

He squinted his eyes as his retina was assaulted by the abundance of light after being subjected to the darkness for so long.

What the hell is happening?! Aren't I dead?!

His body turned and he realized that he was laying on his bed. In his room? He immediately sat up and glanced around. He was actually in his room!

The familiar red painted walls, the shoe rack at the corner where he kept all his football boots, the poster of players behind his bed. Pële, Maradönâ, Kâkâ, Andrêås Pįrlo, Zižou Zidæne, and two giant posters of Leonel Mešsi and Crïstïano Rønaldo overshadowing the smaller ones.

To the far left of the wall was a poster of Manchester Red Football Club's logo. Sir Àlèx Fêrgüson, Rüd Ván Nïsteroy, Sir Bôbby Chàrlrin, Màrcus Rashførd, all of them.

He furrowed his brows. He remembered taking down all the posters, seeing them on the wall of the room reminded him of the dreams that he would never fulfill.

He turned around again and saw a framed jersey with the name Omar written across the upper half of the back. The number '21' was below it. A Manchester Red Jersey. He'd managed to get Zlâtan Ibràhïmøvic's to sign it.

A reminiscent smile was etched on his face, he stepped out of his bed and walked towards the jersey, feeling the glass surface. A new found determination welled up inside him.

He couldn't give him on his dream, he couldn't throw everything all away, he had to fight!

|Ding! User had earned new title|

|Ding! unlocked|

|Ding! Downloading user stats|

|Name: Omari Hutchingson|

|Club: Teeside F.C U18|

|Team role: yet to be determined |

|Shirt number: yet to be determined|

|Attributes|

|Speed: 71|

|Dribbling: 59|

|Shooting: 60|

|Passing: 67|

|Accuracy: 54|

|Physique: 73|

|Crossing: 61|

|Pace: 78|

|Overall Player Rating: 64|

|Overall Player Potential: 75|

|Skills: Stepover [Upgradable], Curler [Upgradable]|

|Titles: |

|Awards: Nil|

Huh?! The system is… real?

Omari noticed some changes to his stats and furrowed his brows. He would've asked some questions but he was interrupted.

He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door to his room creaking open. His neck turned towards the door. His mom peered inside.

"Oh, you're awake". She said. "You should get ready, it's almost time for training".

"Practice? But the season is…". Omari halted his speech midway through his sentence. He looked around the room, the posters he thought, no, he was sure that he had removed. The changes to his stats, how would his team role and his squad number be yet to be determined if he already started playing for the team.

Don't tell me that…

"Mum, what day is it?" Omari asked.

"Monday". She answered, an amused smile settling on her face.

"No! The date". Omari almost yelled.

"August seventh twenty - twenty three". She answered. She wanted to ask him wby he needed the date but after a moment of thought, decided not to pursue the matter.

He nodded, then watched her ad her figure departed from her room. It was only after he was sure that she had left that he let the shock that he felt become evident on his face.

The system had actually taken him a year back in time!

He should've just signed for Teeside FC two weeks ago. Today was supposed to be his first training session with the team. The start of his plummet from grace.

He clenched his fists as he entered the bathroom. His eyes fixated on the mirror, accessing his appearance.

When he saw his hair, he laughed. He hadn't gotten his dreads yet, his hair was only a few inches long. He had light brown skin, his face shaped in a way that made him look very handsome. His light brown eyes lighting up in amusement as he saw his younger self.

There was a thin patch of hair growing slightly above his upper lips. It was not visible enough to be seen from a distance, his closeness to the mirror was what brought it to his attention.

Within thirty minutes, he was fully dressed for training and headed to the living room. He wore a black themed football training outfit. He wore a red canvas on his feet. Hoisted over he shoulders was a bag containing other essentials.

"Do you want something to eat?" A middle aged man sat on a sofa. He looked very much like Omari, except that he had a clean cut and a goatee surrounding his mouth area.

"I'll eat when I get back". Omari said while walking out the door. He took a sniff of the fresh English morning air, a smile blossoming on his face as he began his short walk towards the training pitch.

***

The Teeside academy training facilities was located a few buildings away from The Teesside Stadium. The stadium spanned for so many meters into the air. It's height and magnitude overshadowed the small collection of football fields a few kilometers away. Omari was hit by a sudden wave of nostalgia as he entered the academy building and started walking towards the locker room.

"Alright everyone, today we're welcoming new signings to the squad". Omari could hear the coach talking already.

Crap, I'm late.

"All the way from Nigeria, let's welcome Ayanfe Adeogun".

His voice was followed by a torrent of applause. Omari pushed the door open and crept into the room, unnoticed by his new teammates. He didn't escape the attention of the coach though. The coach cast him a disapproving glance.

"And all the way from er… some blocks away, let's welcome Omari Hutchingson".

A torrent of applause erupted.

"Okay, all of you change into your training gear. Omari and Ayanfe, you'll get your academy training uniforms next week".

Omari nodded slightly and started wearing his football bouts. Today was going to mark that beginning of his path to greatness!